Well, to make a long story short, Tim has been pretty sedated with anti-epileptic, anti-inflammatories, and pain meds. The nuero-surgeon on call for his case came by about 3pm and explained that he has a grade 2 brain tumor. He feels that the tumor has been there 4-5 years and is starting to calcify. He wants to get it out and is going to schedule him for brain surgery towards the end of next week. Obviously it will be a pretty intense surgery, but he explained that this is a best case scenario because for tumors they rate them on a scale of 1-4, with 1 being the lowest (and usually only seen in children) and 2 the lowest on the adult scale. The doctor is optimistic and says a level 2 is very operable and his tumor in a location where it can be removed easily. They will remove it and send for a biopsy to determine if it's cancerous, but he expects it to be a malignant growth. Tim's takes quite a bit of Excedrin for his headaches and the aspirin breaks down his blood platelets so they want those to build up before surgery. They are monitoring him in the ICU unit to make sure he doesn't have another seizure and will transfer him out of ICU when he is eating and walking and doesn't have another seizure...hopefully tomorrow or Friday. I anticipate he might be released late Friday or Saturday and then he'll come home and just rest until he has the surgery.
I've talked to quite a few family members on both sides so thank you all for your support and prayers on our behalf already. Danielle has the boys right now getting them dinner and has been a great help. I called Charlie from the ER and woke him and Cheryl up at 1pm. He was able to come to the hospital and give Tim a blessing last night so thanks Charlie-o for being willing an able to help out!
Take care, Lori
THANK YOU ALL for all your kinds thoughts and prayers. We feel optimistic that everything will be just fine. Tim has been in bed since he got home and is very groggy. He's only eaten a few slices of toast and a piece of chocolate cake! It turns out his Excedrin is the migraine formula so doesn't have any aspirin in it. The aspirin is what depletes the platelets so I'm going to call the doctor's office tomorrow to see if there's a chance to move the surgery up a few days. Staying at home laying in bed is driving him insane already and doing it for another 4 days is going to be torture for him.
I typed up some info on the surgery for my little sister Julie. She had spinal meningitis when we was a toddler and suffered from seizures her whole life..that is up until about 3 years ago when she had brain surgery. At age 33, she found a great doc in Arizona that was able to operate and take out the scar tissue that was causing the seizures. She has not had a seizure since her surgery so we know that even though it's a scary procedure...it had worked for someone in our family! Tim will be having "tumor craniotomy" on the right frontal lobe. They will cut from the hairline in front of his ear (in the sideburn area) all the way to the very top of the head. The cut will be just behind the hairline so the scar will not even be noticeable. They will just shave his head where the incision will be and lift the scalp back to expose the skull. The will remove some of the skull, and go through the dura that protects the brain to access the right frontal lobe. He said the area of the tumor is swollen and there is a lot of edema that the anti-inflammatory meds will take care of. They will be using a computer program that is very sophisticated during the surgery. The computer program used the images from the MRI so he will actually be looking at Tim's brain on a computer as he does the 1st part of the surgery. He will surround the tumor using this computer program and isolate it completely. Then they will cut it out (I think with a laser) and send it on it's way to pathology.
The Neurosurgeon thinks the tumor has been there a minimum of 4-5 years because the amount of calcification meaning the body has been trying to get rid of it for quite some time. If in the slightest chance it is cancerous, he said it will be gone and they can do radiation to zap anything that could be left.
08/25/08 Just wanted to give you all a quick update on Tim. He is still in the hospital...which is driving him CRAZY because at this point, he would rather be anywhere but the hospital! He was moved out of ICU on Sunday so is in the Neuro-ward which seems just as noisy and busy as ICU. He is still feeling pretty groggy from all the medication and doesn't like the feeling of being out of control. Today is face (especially his eyes) were much more swollen which the nurse said was attributed to swelling where they removed the tumor. We still haven't heard from the doctor on the tumor pathology. The nurse did say the report from his hospital lab is back...which most likely is good news because if the hospital lab thought the tumor looked suspicious (for cancer), they would have sent it on to St. Louis and we would still be waiting. Tim's neuro surgeon has been in surgery all day today and will be tomorrow so I'm hoping the nurse practitioner will give him good news on the tumor and will also release him to come home asap. The nurse said he has more visitors today that she would like, and they want him to rest and get as much sleep as possible.
Well, that about does it. I started school today so Tim's parents have been sitting by his bedside all day. Danielle, Austin and I visited him this evening and Charlie and Cheryl brought him a PB&J and some snickerdoodles (ok Cheryl brought the food)! That was a welcome change from his nasty looking hospital food.
Hopefully I'll have good news tomorrow and can send an email that he is home resting and recuperating. Thanks again for all your prayers and good karma coming our way. We really appreciate it.
Well, that about does it. I started school today so Tim's parents have been sitting by his bedside all day. Danielle, Austin and I visited him this evening and Charlie and Cheryl brought him a PB&J and some snickerdoodles (ok Cheryl brought the food)! That was a welcome change from his nasty looking hospital food.
Hopefully I'll have good news tomorrow and can send an email that he is home resting and recuperating. Thanks again for all your prayers and good karma coming our way. We really appreciate it.
(PS: Tim's mom took these photos!)
08/26/08 Just wanted to let you all know that Tim was released from the hospital today at about noon so HE IS FINALLY HOME. He has been sleeping most of the day and hasn't eaten much. His headwrap is off and he has 20+ staples in his scalp so it's not a pretty sight. We are happy to have him home and hope to hear about the pathology of the tumor tomorrow. His doctor tried to call me several times but can't answer my phone when I'm in class. However, if I would have known he was calling I would have made an exception and answered it anyway!!! I really do feel it will be good news or else he would have left urgent messages on all our phones in order to get in touch with us.I'll write more as soon as we get in touch with the doctor. I think he'll be home another 1 1/2 - 2 weeks but he's anxious to get back to work so we'll see!
08/27/08 I talked to Tim's doctor today and didn’t get the news I was hoping for. The pathologist at Saint Mary's sent his tumor on to Washington University in St. Louis for further testing. The doctor said that we don't know for sure what that means, and won't know until the report comes back in 5-7 working days. We're staying positive so keeps the prayers coming our way and it'll all work out...whatever the outcome might be.
09/02/08 Many of you have heard by now, but if not, the pathology report from Washington University for Tim didn't come back as we had hoped. They have determined that Tim's tumor is a Level 3 Oligodendroglioma. His surgeon is referring us to a Neuro-Oncologist and we have elected to see one in Salt Lake at the Hunstman Cancer Institute. We are being told that he will need chemotherapy but we don't have any details on when, how long it will take, etc.
We have an appointment with Tim's doctor Thursday at 3:45pm so we will hopefully get more of our questions answered and will also get the referral to the Hunstman Institute so we can plan the next course of treatment.
We are staying optimistic but please keep Tim in your thoughts, prayers, fasts, etc so that he will be comforted and will have the strength to get through this next hurdle.
09/07/08 Tim is doing alright. He got his 22 staples out on Thursday and his incision in healing well. He is still pretty groggy from all the meds he is taking. We are waiting on our HMO insurance to hopefully refer us to the Huntsman Institute in Salt Lake. Since we are on an HMO, and there are no neuro-oncologists in the Reno area, we are praying they will allow us to go to Salt Lake where we have family to stay with. We should hear about their decision sometime this week (maybe Mon or Tues). Our doctor said Tim can't start any treatments until about 1 month after his surgery because his incision needs to heal properly and that takes about a month. I'm anticipating that if we are able to go to Salt Lake, we'll need to go see an oncologist, have them determine what the next course of treatment will be, and that will most likely be within the next 1-2 weeks. Then treatments would start middle to end of September. We still don't know how long it will take for the treatments, so as soon as we know, I'll pass that info along.
Thanks again for all the cards and well wishes. We also have a refrigerator full of food and have been well feed by friends and family throughout the last 2 weeks. It has been very comforting to have so many of friends and family members praying for us during this time.
10/08/08 The boys and I made it to Utah after a LONG drive across Eastern Nevada. They say Nevada is not a wasteland...but whoever made up that slogan must not have ever driven across Nevada! Anyways, I heard "are we there yet" more times than explainable from Jake and Austin. They did pretty good and we arrived at Grammy and Grandpa's on Saturday night.
The boys and I have been taking Tim to his treatmentsand have really enjoyed spending time with him. He goes to Saint Marc's hospital, which has a satellite radiation center for the Huntsman Institute so the drive is not as far. Tim will be getting his 10th treatment today and is doing well...just a bit tired. I think is is tired because he doesn't sleep much. The 1st night we were here, he was up until 5am!!! The next few nights he sleeps a few hours, gets up and wanders around for a few more hours and then goes back to sleep about the time the boys and I are waking up. He is working with his doctors to try to figure out what is causing the insomnia, but from what I've read, it's one of the side effects from radiation.
We are staying with his parents and they have been wonderful! Tim is spoiling the boys...imagine that...and calls this our "Month Long Vacation". We've been to the pumpkin patch, to Cabella's and are going to play mini golf and do batting cages after today's treatment. The boys also want to go to the zoo, to Lagoon (amusement park) to the dinosaur musuem...etc, etc. so I'm sure we'll be busy the whole time we're here.
We're doing great so thanks again for the continued prayers for our family.
The boys and I have been taking Tim to his treatmentsand have really enjoyed spending time with him. He goes to Saint Marc's hospital, which has a satellite radiation center for the Huntsman Institute so the drive is not as far. Tim will be getting his 10th treatment today and is doing well...just a bit tired. I think is is tired because he doesn't sleep much. The 1st night we were here, he was up until 5am!!! The next few nights he sleeps a few hours, gets up and wanders around for a few more hours and then goes back to sleep about the time the boys and I are waking up. He is working with his doctors to try to figure out what is causing the insomnia, but from what I've read, it's one of the side effects from radiation.
We are staying with his parents and they have been wonderful! Tim is spoiling the boys...imagine that...and calls this our "Month Long Vacation". We've been to the pumpkin patch, to Cabella's and are going to play mini golf and do batting cages after today's treatment. The boys also want to go to the zoo, to Lagoon (amusement park) to the dinosaur musuem...etc, etc. so I'm sure we'll be busy the whole time we're here.
We're doing great so thanks again for the continued prayers for our family.
10/30/08 To make a long story short, we saw a neurosurgeon today and he is concerned about Tim's incision....which is infected. Tim has been scheduled for surgery on Friday (Halloween) at 11:45am. Dr Jensen is hoping it is just a "superficial" infection (as he called it), and just under the wound and above the skull. Once they find out how deep the infection is, we'll know how much time the recovery will be. If it's just a superficial infection, they will clean it up, stitch him up, and put him on antibiotics. He would then finish up his radiation, which is only 7 more treatments after Friday.IF the infection has spread to the bone, then the procedure and recovery will be a bit more complicated. Tim is very disappointed...to say the least...mainly because he has to stay in the hospital again!!! The doctor expects the stay to be 2-3 days if the infection is just below the wound. We're hoping this is just a small bump on the road to recovery.
10/31/08 Tim's surgery went well today. The doctor seems to think the infection was caused by a stich that didn't dissolve when he had his brain surgery. He cleaned out the infection and stitched him back up, but has sent a sample of the infection to the lab. The results should be back middle of next week and if it's an infection that's common, his body will fight it off. If it's more "exotic" then they will dose him up with antibiotics and hopefully clear it up so he doesn't have to remove the bone.So for tonight, Tim's doctor actually said he could go home...but Tim is a little sick to his stomach and has a terrible headache. I was shocked but he decided to stay the night...I think so he could get morphine and get out of trick or treating (just kidding)! Happy Halloween everyone!!!!
11/08/08 The boys and I are back in Reno after getting to spend the month of October in Salt Lake with Tim. We had to be back for work & school on Mon, Nov 3rd so we drove home Sun, Nov 2. Tim only has a couple of radiation treatments left (YEAH!!!) and will hopefully be back in town around Veteran's Day. His neurosurgeon in Reno can take his stitches out and check to see if the infection has cleared up. It has been very helpful that the surgeon at Huntsman knows Tim's neurosurgeon in Reno (they did their residencies together back in Chicago) so they talk regularly about his progress.Hopefully the next blog will be me saying Tim is home! Maybe I can even have him sit at the computer and type something himself??!!!
11/16/08 Tim went to his doctor's office on Friday to get his stitches out. They took 1 look at his incision and sent him straight over to the hospital and scheduled him for surgery. Turns out the infection hadn't cleared up and had gotten under the bone. The surgeon opened the incision and took out the piece of skull they had removed when they took out his tumor. He met with an infectious disease doctor last night, so we expect him to be out of the hospital Monday or Tuesday and will meet with this doctor again to determine where we go from here. We know he will have to be on a heavy duty IV antibiotic regiman for 4-6 weeks. In about 3 months, if the infection is cleared up, they will put a plate into the skull to replace the bone.
11/18/08 Tim was FINALLY released today and has been referred to an infection disease doctor. This doctor will now work on cleaning up the infection that developed in his incision, which will take about 4-6 weeks. Tim has a pic-line in his arm that leads to a vein right above his heart and this is where he will get the IV antibiotics. We met with the nurse this afternoon and learned how to give him the IV. The antibiotics will have to be administered 2x/day for the next 4-6 weeks. At least he can get the IV's at home!Once the infection is cleared up, he will have another surgery. This will be to put in a titanium plate to replace the bone and will be in about 3 months. I keep hoping my updates are to tell you he is felling normal and back to work. Hopefully both will happen SOON!
11/26/08 I just realized it's been awhile since I last updated the blog. It's Thanksgiving eve and Tim is home and doing fine. He is still getting IV antibiotics through a pic line several times each day, but it's nice that he can do it from home. Whenever he's hooked up to his IV, I try to keep away because I'm uncoordinated and always seem to trip on his IV stand! Luckily today he got good news that he will still need antibiotics, but they are in a syringe and only take a few seconds to administer.He has his 1st follow up after radiation with the neuro-oncologist in Salt Lake on December 4th. We are praying that he will get a clean bill of health on the cancer side and will be able to return to work the following week. He has been off work since August 12th and being the work-a-holic that he is...being away from the office is about to drive him over the edge!He will still need surgery again in approximately 2 1/2 months to replace the piece of bone they took out last week. But, I think we are finally on the downward stretch.Tim and I were talking and his 2nd surgery was on Halloween and 3rd was on Friday the 13th. We were married on April 13th and I've never been superstitious...but might have to change my mind after all this!
12/06/08 It has been 2 months since Tim finished radiation. That means it was time to go back to Utah to meet with with oncologist. He did this on Thrusday, and so far, everything looks good! He is still doing IV antibiotic therapy/infusion once each day but now it is only for about 20 minutes. He will hopefully be done with the infusions at the end of Deccember. His nuerosurgeon is keeping tabs on him and as soon as the infection is completely gone, they will operate again to put in a titanium plate in his skull. He is hoping to be back to work this week...or at the latest on Dec 15th!
01/17/09 Tim flew to Utah on Thursday to have his 2nd check-up after radiation/chemo with the neuro-oncologist. Everything looked good (was clear) so that is good news on the cancer side. He will have appointments with the neuro-oncologist every 2 months for awhile on the cancer side. He will also take his chemo medication, temodar, for 5 days each month for the next 6-12 months. The tumor will grow back eventually, but since it's a slow growing type, we're hoping there will be advancements in the next few years that will slow or even stop the growth of oligodendrigliomas (and Austin can now say this word because he's heard me say it so much)!!!He is still VERY tired, even more tired than he was when he was going through radiation.
His infection has cleared up and his pick-line is out, but the infectious disease doctor wants to wait until end of March or April to replace his "bone flap" (aka: missing piece of skull). This is to make sure the infection is completely gone and there no infection hiding out when they put in the titanium plate to replace the missing skull bone.
03/06/09 Tim's surgery has been scheduled for March 24. He has really been down and out lately and going through A LOT of tiredness and fatigue. After the last round of chemo, his neuro-surgeon and oncologist talked and decided to skip the next few months of chemo so they could put in the titanium plate in his skull. I went to his last appointment with his infectious disease doctor and learned Tim's infection was a staph infection of the bone. We are optimistic that this will be the last round of surgery. I'm hoping and praying it's all downhill from here.....
03/27/09 Tim's surgery on Tuesday (3/24) went well. The surgery lasted about 90 minutes. Dr. Leppla put in a titanium plate to replace the bone that was removed due to the staph infection he developed (the photo shows the model of his skull used to make the plate). He came home on Friday and has been really sore but feeling a little better everyday. His doctors have also decided it would be best for him to take medical leave for at least 6 months. We anticipate he will be home recovering until late summer.From here, he will need to continue chemotherapy for a short period of time. He will see his doctor in Utah within the next month who will do some more tests and determine how many more chemo cycles (months) he will need.Needless to say, we are looking forward to closing this chapter and getting on with life!!!
10/15/09 It's been awhile since I last updated everyone on the latest and greatest in the Woodman household. The most important bit of news is that Tim went to his oncologist in Utah the beginning of October and wast told that HE IS IN REMISSION!!!! YEAH!!!! It's been a LONG year for our family, but we have gotten through it. Tim is still having quite a few headaches which is frustrating to him. The doctor is trying to get him completely off his steroids, but his system doesn't seem to want to give them up. When he cuts the dose, he gets migraines instead of his "normal" headaches. He is seeing some great pain management doctors at Huntsman, so hopefully they will be able to control them SOON! He has been home from work and is hoping to get back in the work world soon. It's a bit scary with this economy to be looking for a job, so if anyone knows of any banking/lending jobs, let us know. We have talked about relocation and would LOVE to get closer to family so anything in Utah or Arizona would be especially nice!
